Dismiss Ponguleti from Cabinet for 22-A mess: Former minister T Harish Rao

ADILABAD: Accusing the Congress government of creating problems for landowners, former minister T Harish Rao on Friday said that 42,867 acres of farmers’ land in the Sirpur-Kagaznagar constituency alone had been included in the prohibited Section 22-A list, reflecting the extent of the problem.

Addressing a BRS meeting at Koutala in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district as part of the party’s campaign against the Congress government’s “failures” in 1,000 days, Harish alleged that farmers were unable to access bank loans and were facing difficulties in conducting marriages because their lands were shown as prohibited.

“When the CM’s own house was placed in the prohibited list, it was removed overnight. Is there one rule for the poor and another for him?” he asked.

Harish demanded that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy remove Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, alleging that lands belonging to poor farmers had been placed in the 22-A list during his tenure. He also demanded an unconditional apology from the chief minister for allegedly referring to farmers as land grabbers.

He alleged that Srinivasa Reddy was claiming that not a single acre had been added to the 22-A list, while thousands of acres had been affected.

He claimed that schemes such as pensions, Kalyana Lakshmi, KCR Kit and Dalit Bandhu had been stopped or curtailed under the Congress rule.